A little more on the 3 H’s…
I had a great time Tuesday night at The Church at Mirror Lake sharing some on how powerful it is when you join Happy with Holy. If you didn’t get to be there, you should listen to the podcast. Just thought I’d add some more thoughts to that…
There are tons of verses in the Bible (the B-I-B-L-E, that’s the book for me) about being happy. Just go to biblegateway.com or some other Bible search site and do a keyword search for happy. (Use the Holman Christian Standard Bible version for the search since some of the other versions change happy to other great words that mean happy). There are so many, you just get the feeling God really wants you to be happy. Seems a shame that He is so often presented as so serious and somber, almost like He’s never happy. Yet, the Bible says He is a laughing God, a dancing God, a God who moves to the sound of joyful shouting, a God who smiles over us. I mean, think about it, He named the child of promise, Isaac, “laughter.” Isaac’s Hebrew name is literally “Ha Ha.” Jesus’ name is the Greek version of “Ha Ha.” Joy is not a feeling, it is a person—Jesus! The book of Hebrews says Jesus is the exact representation of God. I can’t imagine the face of Jesus without imagining a smile. Tell me He wasn’t smiling when, after He told them to “beware the leaven of the Pharisees”, his disciples thought He wanted to know who forgot to bring the bread! I know He had a twinkle in His eye and little smile on His face when He responded to James and John wanting to call down fire by calling them the “Sons of Thunder.”
Jesus is all about transforming lives. Taking us from mediocre life to amazing life, from faking it to making it. Life is better with Jesus. Even the tough times are better with Jesus. We are going to have tough times. Jesus promised us that, but He ended the promise with reminding us to be happy. The Gospel could be called the “Get Back Up” Gospel because it promises us that when we get knocked down, we won’t be knocked out. Life with Jesus means we get back up and move forward. And it means we make a choice to be happy. Holy simply happens when Jesus moves into our life. Combine it with happy and you will change the world. Happy doesn’t last long without Jesus, cause this broken world will steal it. Holy gives happy the staying power. I know I am a winner, even when it feels like I am losing, because I have Jesus—because I am holy. Not because I lived up to a bunch of rules and regulations, but because I have a relationship with a laughing God who smiles over me, even when He is bending down to pick me up out of my self-induced mess. I am holy because of Him, nothing about my performance, all about Him. Happy + Holy = Harvest. Celebrate Jesus by making the choice to be happy and watch what happens—people you care about will be drawn to great life in Him.
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Whether you are full of questions or ready to jump right in, there is a place for you at The Church at Mirror Lake. Our church is a place where you can build relationships with others, experience God in worship, be empowered by practical, life-giving teaching from God's Word, and have fun doing it.
Together, we are living the Winner's Life as we learn to love, serve, reach, grow and connect. So whether you're a spiritual seeker starting to ask questions about God, or a committed Christian looking to sink your faith roots even deeper, you'll feel at home at The Church at Mirror Lake.
If you believe Jesus really meant it when He said, "I came so people can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of," (John 10:10 Message Translation) then join us this weekend at one of our Jesus Celebrations. Until then, browse our website (a link is on the right of this page) where you'll find lots of helpful info and feel free to download one of our service messages or subscribe to our weekly podcast where you will receive the fresh, life-giving Word of God.
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